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The fifth child molestation allegation against Seattle’s Democratic Mayor Ed Murray arrived from his first cousin’s son, compelling the Seattle figurehead to resign effective Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at end of business day. After a spate of child sex-abuse allegations poured in from boys claiming to have been victimized by Murray, the married mayor claimed he would complete his political term and not seek re-election.

But that changed today when Seattle Mayor Murray’s first cousin’s son, Joseph Dyer, 54, divulged he had been sexually molested by Murray decades ago in a Medford, NY home headed by Dyer’s mom, Maryellen Sottile.

The Seattle Times reported that once it published the latest accusation this morning, Murray rather swiftly tendered his resignation to now-acting Mayor Bruce Harrell who is also the Seattle City Council president.

“While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public’s business.”

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Murray was a career politician whose championing gay rights remained a staple ingredient in his political platform.

In the Seattle City Council official statement, President Harrell wrote on behalf of its 9-member body:

Other than Council President Harrell’s written acknowledgement, with the exception of Councilwoman Sawant, none of the other council-members published any independent responses to their mayor’s resignation.

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The buildup of allegations against Mayor Murray chronicle over the past few months:

One of Murray’s accusers is his former foster son, while another is now a grown man who purports Murray paid him for sex when he was a teen. The latter has stated he plans to file lawsuit against Murray when he no longer holds the mayoral capacity, according to The Daily Gazette.

For his part, Murray claims innocence and apologized to his mayoral staff for a “painful situation.” With the Seattle mayor resignation, Murray went on to say: “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public’s business.”

Stephen Owsinski is an OpsLens Content Manager and Contributor. Owsinski is a retired law enforcement officer whose career included assignments in the Uniformed Patrol Division and Field Training Officer (FTO) unit. He is currently a researcher and writer. Follow Stephen on Twitter @uniformblue.

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